Summer dress styles in satin, muslin and linen

Our summer dress collection is cut for real heat, in cotton muslin, linen, viscose and satin, and most of it’s short, with short sleeves. It comes back to the catalog every March, which makes winter a good time to look around and work out your size.

Muslin and linen for a hot week by the sea

Muslin is a very thin cotton, and in July heat it’s the one we’d pack first. The white muslin maxis wrap at the front with a V-neck, one in a floral print and one covered in little pink hearts. Picnic, beach walk, photos in a field. The pink muslin mini is made from two layers of muslin, and you can’t see through it. Each short sleeve has a slit and little ties.

Muslin comes out of the wash a bit crinkled. That’s normal. Steam it for a minute and go.

Hate ironing on vacation? Look at linen. Our white linen midi in a floral print is cut from crinkle linen, a fabric with a light wrinkled texture, and those little folds are meant to be there, even after a long drive. Off the shoulder, short sleeves, small earrings, no necklace. There’s a plain white linen midi too, plus a short off-shoulder one for a city that gets stuffy by noon.

Satin for the wedding on the lawn and the dinner after

The lemon sateen midi is the dressy summer dress on this page. It’s fitted at the waist, the skirt flares, the sleeves flutter, and the back is open, so wear your hair up and let people see it. A friend’s summer wedding, a terrace dinner at nine, a garden photo shoot.

The square-neck minis in silk-look satin have little flutter sleeves that just cover the top of the arm. They come in pink, in a white floral and in a light blue floral. Keep white for days that aren’t someone’s wedding, and see our outfits for warm-weather weddings if you’ve got an invitation coming.

Viscose prints for August in the city

Lightweight viscose is light and soft against the skin. The loose floral minis in pink and red don’t pinch at the waist and don’t cling, and you’ll feel the difference when you’re sitting on a café terrace at two in the afternoon. For cooler evenings, take the white midi with lilac flowers. Long sleeves end in a cuff, a belt ties at the waist, and the hem finishes in a flounce.

A summer dress in a pink floral maxi wrap works for a seaside dinner too. If you’d rather start the season a little earlier, look through our styles for April and May.

Frequently asked questions

Which fabric is coolest when it’s over 30 °C?

Muslin or linen. Satin looks dressier, so we’d save it for the evening.

Why can’t I order one in November?

The warm collection is hidden from September to February. It returns in March, and in the meantime you can browse all our dresses or the white ones for hot days.

How should a loose style fit?

Choose it by your bust and let the rest hang easy. We sew everything from XS to XL, and our XL is close to a UK 16.